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eke - 11 dictionary results
eke
1
[eek] 
–verb (used with object), eked, ek⋅ing.
—Verb phrase| 1. | to increase; enlarge; lengthen. |
| 2. | eke out,
|
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME eken, OE ēac(i)an (intrans.), deriv. of ēaca (n.) increase; ME echen, OE ēcan, var. of īecan (transit.) < WGmc *aukjan; both akin to ON auka, Goth aukan, L augēre, Gk auxánein to increase, amplify
bef. 1000; ME eken, OE ēac(i)an (intrans.), deriv. of ēaca (n.) increase; ME echen, OE ēcan, var. of īecan (transit.) < WGmc *aukjan; both akin to ON auka, Goth aukan, L augēre, Gk auxánein to increase, amplify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To eke
| eke 1 (ēk) tr.v. eked, ek·ing, ekes
[Middle English eken, to increase, from Old English ēcan; see aug- in Indo-European roots.] |
| eke 2 (ēk) adv. Archaic Also. [Middle English, from Old English ēac, ēc.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
| Main Entry: | eke1 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to gain or supplement with great difficulty |
| Etymology: | Latin augere 'to increase' |
| Usage: | transitive; used with out |
| Main Entry: | eke2 |
| Part of Speech: | v |
| Definition: | to increase or make last by being economical |
| Etymology: | Latin augere 'to increase' |
| Usage: | transitive; used with out |
| Main Entry: | eke |
| Part of Speech: | adv |
| Definition: | also |
| Etymology: | Old English eac |
| Usage: | archaic |
Language Translation for : eke
Spanish:
hacer alcanzar, racionarhacer alcanzar, racionar,
German:
ergänzen,
Japanese:
補う
Eke
Eke\ ([=e]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eked; p. pr. & vb. n. Eking.] [AS. [=e]kan, [=y]kan; akin to OFries, [=a]ka, OS. ?kian, OHG. ouhh[=o]n to add, Icel. auka to increase, Sw. ["o]ka, Dan. ["o]ge, Goth. aukan, L. augere, Skr. ?jas strength, ugra mighty, and probably to English wax, v. i. Cf. Augment, Nickname.] To increase; to add to; to augment; -- now commonly used with out, the notion conveyed being to add to, or piece out by a laborious, inferior, or scanty addition; as, to eke out a scanty supply of one kind with some other. "To eke my pain." --Spenser. He eked out by his wits an income of barely fifty pounds. --Macaulay.Eke
Eke\, adv. [AS. e['a]c; akin to OFries. ['a]k, OS. ?k, D. ?ok, OHG. ouh, G. auch, Icel. auk, Sw. och and, Dan. og, Goth. auk for, but. Prob. from the preceding verb.] In addition; also; likewise. [Obs. or Archaic] 'T will be prodigious hard to prove That this is eke the throne of love. --Prior. A trainband captain eke was he Of famous London town. --Cowper. Note: Eke serves less to unite than to render prominent a subjoined more important sentence or notion. --M["a]tzner.Eke
Eke\, n. An addition. [R.] Clumsy ekes that may well be spared. --Geddes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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eke
c.1200, north England and E. Midlands var. of echen from O.E. ecan, eacan, eacian "addition, reinforcement," probably from eaca "an increase," from P.Gmc. *aukan (cf. O.N. auka, O.Fris. aka, Goth. aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1596). It means "to make something go further or last longer;" you can eke out your income by taking a second job, but you can't eke out your miserable existence. Obsolete eke "also" (O.E. eac, Ger. auch) is probably related.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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